“I was born in Russia,” New York-based theater maker Irina Kruzhilina explains as our interview commences. “My mom was born in Ukraine. My father’s a Georgian Jew, which makes the situation right now, as you can imagine, very difficult. But I think that most people who are in Russia, or those who escape, do have this background, whether it’s Russian-Ukrainian or Russian-something else.”

Raised in Moscow during the days of the Soviet Union, Kruzhilina witnessed the transformation of Russia first-hand… and then witnessed its reversion. “I moved here the year Putin became the president,” she recalls. “I immediately moved to the States, where I got my second master’s in theater and started working. I have training in theater design, and I got additional training in directing.” That training stood Kruzhilina in good stead last year when she did the scenic design for Arlekin Players’ The Gaaga — work that earned her an Elliot Norton Award.

Read more “Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Interviews ‘SpaceBridge’ Creator Irina Kruzhilina”